Arthur Loreston Kibby was born 23 December 1890 in Winchester, New Hampshire. His parents were George Kibby and Elizabeth Quigley. In 1900, he lived in Hinsdale with his parents and three siblings. In 1910, he lived in Claremont with his parents, and worked in a shoe factory. In 1914, he moved to Boston.
Arthur registered for the World War 1 draft on 5 June 1917, in Schenectady, NY. He was employed by the Whitehead Sand Company as a teamster.

In October of that year, a William Quigley reported to the Bureau of Investigation that Kibby was “playing the Slackers game” by moving between White River Junction, Vermont, to Greenfield, Massachusetts, or Claremont, New Hampshire to avoid being called for the draft. Quigley isn’t identified further, but perhaps he was related to Arthur Kibby’s mother. Before it was called the FBI, the Bureau of Investigation investigated threats to the nation and its citizens, and in this instance, had the responsibility to determine whether Kibby was avoiding the draft. They determined that Kibby had not registered in Vermont. The investigator tracked Kibby down to his boarding house in White River Junction. Kibby stated that he had registered in Schenectedy, and he provided the date, and a witness to his registration. Later, while out rowing, his boat capsized and he lost his registration card. He applied for a new card, and had documentation to that effect, even though he had not received a replacement registration card. The investigator was eventually able to confirm that Kibby had actually registered when and where he said – four months before Quigley made the complaint.

In the 1920 census, Arthur was a lodger at a residence in Springfield, Massachusetts. He worked as a baker. Another lodger was Dora Barton, an assembler in a toy factory. She was separated from her husband Leslie Barton, and was the daughter of Harry Sturtevant and Bertha Blood. Her divorce was finalized in May, 1921.

Arthur and Dora married about 1923, and in 1925, were counted in the New York state census, living in New York City, where Arthur worked as a cook. Arthur and Dora separated, and by 1930, Dora was living in Windsor, Vermont, working as a domestic for a private family. She was living with Joseph N Robideau and his mother – she married Joseph on 25 May 1931.

Although Dora listed herself as widowed, in fact, Arthur had moved west without her. A news item from the Angola (Indiana) Herald reported that authorities were seeking family ties of a dead war veteran. The news story said that Kibby had drifted into Angola two weeks previously and had been on a drinking spree for several days. The next day, he drank much coffee and took heavy doses of aspirin. At his boarding house, other residents tried to help him, and called a doctor, but Arthur died that evening, 23 April 1931, due to an aspirin overdose.

In trying to identify family members, officials went through his belongings. A bible in his possession had the address of a mission in Chicago, and people there thought he was a World War soldier with a divorced wife in New York.

A follow up story reports: The local American Legion boys demonstrated their loyalty to their cause, and a buddy overtaken by death far from home. Their act may have been passed over as a perfunctory affair by many people, who take that much for granted. But I believe that in the little town of Claremont, New Hampshire, is a fond mother in the sunset of life, whose mourning for her soldier son who died suddenly in Angola, among comparative strangers, is tempered and softened by the knowledge that his comrades, the American Legion of Angola…..gave him a burial with full military honors.”

The Legion members had tried unsuccessfully to locate his wife in New York City. Eventually, the war department matched his fingerprints to the correct soldier, and Legion members contacted Arthur’s mother in New Hampshire. She could not afford to have Arthur returned to New Hampshire, and requested that he be interred in Angola.

A year later, on Decoration (Memorial) Day, a granite monument was installed at Circle Hill Cemetery, marking American Legion lots, and inscribed Angola Post No. 31. This monument has a bronze plate that says “Pvt. Arthur L Kibby, Cook and Bakers’ School, Died April 23, 1931.”

The news item says, “On this lot will be buried any soldier who has no other plan for burial.”

I have written about Charles Winfield Chick in the past – my very multi married (10 documented wives so far) distant cousin-in-law well removed. I decided to try to find out where all the wives came from, and what happened to them afterwards. This is the story of Charles’ first marriage – apparently the only legitimate marriage of the first seven (that he admitted to in court).

On 1 September 1907, in Revere, MA, Charles married Rosie M Keen. Charles, 21, was a spindle straightener (probably for textile mill machines) living in Biddeford ME, born in Kittery, the son of Caleb W Chick and Almeda Eaton. Rosie was 19, “at home”, in Revere, born in Amesbury MA, daughter of Nathaniel J Keen and Rosie Burchum. Knowing Rose’s parents, and where she lived, it should have been easy to find more information. I did find parents Nathaniel and Rose in the 1900 census, but the children had the last name Way. In looking at how the children were listed, it appears that an older now-widowed daughter Lillian had been married to a Way, and the rest of the children should have been listed as Keene. But the indexers listed all the children as Way. They show up on several Ancestry trees in this manner, even though there are no records to support that Dora, Rosa, Robert, or Hiram (who is really Herman) have the last name Way. Another issue is that according to the census, Nathaniel and Rosa have only been married two years, but she has five children, all still living. So are the children Nathaniel’s from his previous wife Sarah F Morrill? Are they Rosa’s from a previous marriage?

Massachusetts marriage records show that Lillian Burcham, daughter of Edward Kent and Rosa Burcham married Fred Henry Way in 1896. She was in the 1900 census with Nathaniel and Rose, and that explains why the census taker, who was merely listing all the children in order, caused confusion about the last name of the younger children.

Still, accepting that all the children listed in that census are really Keen, and searching on the last name only, with the parents being Nathaniel J Keen and Rose Burchum, I was not able to find birth, marriage, or death records for any of those children, with the exception of Rose and her marriage to Charles Chick. One on-line tree said that Nathaniel died in 1938 in Rockingham County, NH. Ancestry has a good selection of newspapers from Portsmouth, in Rockingham County, and I found the death notice for Nathaniel. It mentioned “survived by” family members, and one was his step-daughter Mrs. Charles W Keen. I found a marriage record for Charles W Keen to Rosie May Granfield, daughter of Robert C Granfield and Rosie Burchum. With that information, I was able to find birth records for several Granfield children with parents Rosie Burchum and Robert Granfield that matched the children in the 1900 census with Rosie and Nathaniel.

Young Rose had several brothers and sisters: half-sister Lillian (Lily May) Kent born in 1880; Dora Granfield b 1885 (she also married a Keen – Arthur); Charles born in 1887, died in 1888; Rose in 1888; Robert b 1889; Herman b 1891; George b/d 1895; Unnamed b/d in 1898.

So Rosie Keen who married Charles W Chick was really Rosie Granfield, and then she confused me by marrying in 1911 to Charles W Keen (no relation at least two generations back, to her step-father Nathaniel Keen). Rose and Charles lived in Salem and Lawrence MA, and they had a son Charles born about 1914. Rose’s husband was a blacksmith in an iron factory. In 1930 they lived in Lawrence MA, and Charles was a salesman at a mill. In 1935, they lived in Methuen, but by 1938 had moved to North Salem NH, according to Rose’s step-father’s obituary.

The Portsmouth newspaper reported in December 1938 the divorce of Charles Keen of Salem NH and Rosie Keen, parts unknown.

I wasn’t able to find Rosie Keen in the 1940 census, or in death records. I decided to look for any Rosie with her date of birth, 8 July 1888, in the Social Security Death Index. One that looked likely was Rose Roberts who died in 1969 in Methuen. She had links to that town – her son lived there. The Rose most likely to be that person was in the 1940 census, born in 1888, wife of Watkins W Roberts. I was not able to find a marriage record that directly linked Watkins to Rose, but did find Watkins in an index as marrying in 1938 in Metheun MA. Unfortunately, the index doesn’t list the spouse, but does list the volume and page number. And by searching the index using the page numbers, I was able to find that Rose Granfield Keen had also married in 1938 in Metheun, and the index numbers matched.

Watkins was an attorney and 1897 graduate of Harvard. The Harvard 25th anniversary book for the class of 1897 gives his birth date as 14 October, 1875, at Lawrence, MA, son of Michael Roberts and Mary Elizabeth Crawford. (His maternal grandmother was a Kean from Scotland – just a coincidence, I’m sure.) In his yearbook entry, he writes: In 1898 I took a bicycle trip through France, southern Germany, Switzerland, the Austrian Tyrol, and Italy. In 1900 I was admitted to the Massachusetts Bar, and since that time I have been engaged in general practice at Lawrence, Mass. I was secretary of the Board of Park Commissioners from 1907 to 1912; am assistant clerk of District Court of Lawrence, secretary of the Lawrence Bar Association, and a member of the Lawrence Press Club. I have traveled on business and pleasure trips through Canada, and a large part of the United States. Fishing and hunting are my principal recreations. During the war I served in the Massachusetts Field Artillery, from 1907 to 1917; commanded C Battery, 1st Mass., F.A.N.G., on Mexican Border service, from June to November, 1916. In April, 1917, was transferred to Mass. N.G. Reserve. Offered services in World War, but was not accepted. Since graduation I have worked some, studied some, acquired fair knowledge of two additional modern languages, played some, suffered some, had my fair share of the joys of life, am endowed with worldly goods, “not much, not little, but just between”; in short, during the last twenty-five years I have pulled just about an average oar, and am still on the course. I have published several short stories, special articles, and verses, of no special importance. Am now conducting, as a sort of indoor sport, two weekly newspaper columns for the Standard Company of Pittsburgh.

Soon after submitting his autobiography for publishing in the yearbook, Watkins married Minerva V Holmes on 28 Apr 1923. Watkins worked as an attorney and clerk in district court. He apparently continued his love of travel. In October of 1938, he sailed from Naples to New York on the SS Conte di Savoia. He was listed as widowed.

Rose’s father, step-father, and second husband were all blacksmiths. Marrying an attorney would probably be seen as a step up in society for her. Rose’s marriage to Charles Chick was short, and since he joined the Navy and was away much of the time, it was probably a lonely time for her. Her second marriage did not work out. I hope that Rose had a good life for the twenty years she was with Watkins. Watkins died in 1958 and Rose died in 1969.

Ethel Leyshon was born 7 March, 1895, in Caerphilly, Glamorgan, Wales. Her parents were Christopher Leyshon and Elizabeth Woodland. She had older siblings, Annie Mary born in 1892 and John Henry born in 1894. The 1901 census shows the family on Bartlett Street of Eglwysilan (parish of St. Martin’s). Christopher was a coal miner. Although Elizabeth was born in England, she (along with Christopher) spoke both English and Welsh. The children spoke only English.

In 1911, the family lived at 52 Cardiff Road in Caerphilly in Wales. This was a six room house. The census shows that Ethel’s older sister Annie died between 1901 and 1911, and there is an Anna Mary Leyshon who was buried in 1902 at Caerphilly St. Martin. Ethel’s father and brother John were both coal mine hewers. The hewer is the person responsible for actually digging the coal, loosening it from the coal bed.

Senghenydd Colliery Disaster of 14 October 1913 killed 439 miners and one rescuer, near Caerphilly. I don’t know what mine Christopher and John worked in, but this explosion, the worst mining accident in the UK, must have killed friends and maybe even family members. Perhaps this disaster helped Christopher and Elizabeth decide to move to the United States. Or perhaps they hoped to avoid the Great War, which started in July 1914.

Ethel sailed with her parents on the SS Tuscania, leaving Liverpool on 16 October, 1915. The Tuscania was a new ship, a luxury liner only a year old. (On 5 February, 1918, the Tuscania was carrying 2000 American troops from New Jersey to Liverpool, England, across the North Atlantic. The ship was torpedoed, and sank in about four hours, with a lost of 210 men.)

The ship’s manifest lists Christopher as a collier, and they could all read and write. They arrived in New York on 26 October, 1915. They were on their way to Youngstown, Ohio, with only $30, to meet up with their son John, who had emigrated in 1914 and was already working in the steel industry. The passenger list indicates that Ethel was medically certified as having Rigg’s disease, or gum disease, resulting in loss of teeth. This was recorded for several of the passengers on this same passenger sheet. A person who was medically certified was at risk for not being allowed entry into the US. I don’t know if this certification prevented Ethel’s entry at this time.

Christopher and Elizabeth did reach Youngstown, and were counted in the 1920 census there. Christopher worked in the steel industry. Ethel was not in that household and I have not yet found her in the 1920 census. Christopher and Elizabeth were listed in the 1926 Youngstown city directory, living at 20 Edwards. Both John and Christopher were employed by the Ohio Works – a steel company. The 1927 directory includes Ethel, living with her parents.

On 7 May 1928, Ethel married Charles Winfield Chick, in Youngstown. Charles was the son of Caleb and Augusta Chick, born in 1889 in Maine. Charles was a sailor, sometimes in the Navy, sometimes in the Merchant Marine, sometimes working at the Navy Yard. I’m not sure what brought him to Youngstown, but perhaps his experience working in the Navy Yard made him a candidate for a job in the steel industry.

Ethel’s father Christopher died on 28 September 1928 in Youngstown, of brocho pneumonia. Ethel and Charles, and her mother Elizabeth, moved to Lynn, Massachusetts. About a year into her marriage, Ethel discovered letters that made her suspicious that Charles had other wives. She reported him to the police, and they were able to track him down to another woman’s residence, where he was in the process of proposing to yet another potential bride.

The investigation revealed that Charles had been married in 1907 to Rosie in Massachusetts, in 1911 to Leona in Florida, in 1919 to Loretta in Maine, and in 1923 to Hilda, also in Maine, before marrying Ethel in 1928 in Ohio, and none of the prior wives were divorced from him, nor deceased. Charles reportedly had a wife named Yvette in Paris, and perhaps even a wife in Cuba, and in the Panama Canal Zone.

Charles had apparently wooed the women with Biblical and other quotations to the effect that “If a man and a woman cannot agree after marriage he shall go to the farthest corner of the earth and find another woman and she shall do the same.” That was apparently the process that Charles followed, without bothering to get a divorce.

At the trial in 1929, five of the wives, including Ethel, testified against Charles, and he eventually admitted to having seven wives. He was sentenced to a year in prison. Afterwards, Charles married three more times, and he died in 1958 in Maine.

The 1930 census lists Ethel and her mother living at 60 Howard street in Lynn. Ethel was a garment factory stitcher. By 1935, they had moved to 14 Cleveland and the 1940 census lists Ethel as an inspector for a sewing project. This was as a government employee in a Works Progress Administration job. The projects taught women to use sewing machines, and they made clothing and bedding for hospitals and orphanages.

The last record I have for Ethel’s mother is a listing in the 1941 Lynn city directory. After that, she may have died, or moved back to Youngstown, OH, to be near her son. In 1945, Ethel lived at 49 Campbell Terrace, and her mother was not listed with her.

While still living in Caerphilly, Ethel had become friends with a young man named William Charles Carnell (or Carnall) who was working in the nearby mines in the Aber Valley. When the war of 1914 started, William went to France. He was blinded at Loos in September of 1915. Ethel’s family moved to the US in October 1915. William was released from the Army and went to St. Dunstan’s, a facility developed to help train those blinded in the war. William became a successful poultry farmer in Kiln Cottage, Bampton, Devon. Over the years, Ethel made numerous attempts to locate him, and eventually was able to establish correspondence with William. In about 1943, they agreed to marry, but because of the war-time restrictions, she was not able to travel back to England. In October, 1946, she traveled on the ocean liner Queen Elizabeth’s first peace-time voyage from the US to England, and Ethel and William were married 21 November 1946 at the Methodist Church in Bampton.

William died 6 Jan 1962 in Tiverton, Devonshire, England. He left his estate valued at £2391 to his widow Ethel. His death was reported in St. Dunstan’s Review, a sort of alumni newsletter from the facility for blind soldiers that he attended when released from the army: Lance Corporal William Charles Carnall, 2nd Royal Irish Rifles. It is with deep regret that we record the death of W. C. Carnall, of Bampton, Devon. He was 69. Enlisting in September, 1914, he left the Army in February, 1916, and came straight to St. Dunstan’s where he trained in boot repairing and poultry keeping. He continued with this work and was still keeping poultry up to August, 1960. He had intended to renew his stock but in the autumn of 1961 his health broke down and in October, he went to Pearson House. He became seriously ill but returned home at his own wish on November 10th, where he died on January 6th. Our deep sympathy goes out to Mrs. Carnall, who was Billy’s second wife, but whose friendship with our St. Dunstaner went back some forty years before their marriage in 1946. At the outbreak of war in 1914 he had gone to France and Miss Leyshon, as she was then, went to the United States.

Daniel Pickernell (aka Picknell) was born 23 March 1792 in Kittery, York County, Maine, the youngest of at least six children of Nelson Pickernell and Anna Place. Daniel’s father served in the Revolutionary War in 1779 as a drummer, but is listed has having deserted. Daniel’s siblings include Thomas, Lydia, Nancy, Harriet, and Samuel.

Nelson was an heir and executor to his father’s will in 1786, but sold his land in about 1792 and moved the family from Kittery. Nelson is listed in the 1800 and 1810 census in Wendell, Cheshire County, New Hampshire. Because of Daniel’s young age, he is most likely part of Nelson’s household during this time.

Daniel and his brother Samuel enlisted at Concord from Wendell (Sunapee) in the 1st Regiment of New Hampshire Volunteers in the War of 1812 on 1 February 1813. They served as privates. “Sunapee’s contribution to the war effort of 1812 was large by comparison, but her soldiers saw but little actual combat.” Daniel and Samuel were both privates in Capt. Thomas Currier’s Company. Daniel earned a pension for his service, which was later transferred to his widow. “After the War of 1812 to enforce America’s right to “freedom of the seas,” there was nothing of an eventual nature that happened in Wendell for several years, except that it was a period of building new roads, establishing small district schools, clearing new land by immigrants, improving cultivation, raising large families, and migration west.” Source: The Story of Sunapee published 1941 pp 54-55.

The town records of Wendell record that “The Intentions of Marriage by Daniel Pickernell and Sally Picket both of Wendell hath been published as the law directs Wendell September 27th 1818 Nath’l Perkins T. Clerk.” Later, it is recorded that “I hereby Certify that those Persons hereafter named have Joined in Marriage by me: On the 22d day of December 1818 Daniel Pickernell to Salley Picket both of Wendell Joshua Currier, Justice Peace.” Neither the intentions nor the record of marriage name the parents of the bride and groom. Her father may have been Daniel Locke Picket, as he is the only Picket in the same county, in the 1810 census. This has not yet been verified, and she is not named in the articles I have read about her father.

I did not locate Daniel in the 1820 census. His father had remarried to Mrs. Patty Picket (unknown relationship to Sally Picket) and Nelson was living in Wendell. Only the heads of household are named, and Nelson’s household included a young man and young woman the same ages as Daniel and Sally (or his brother Samuel and new wife Sally). His brother Thomas was listed separately.

The on-line old Croydon town records are missing pages covering part of 1826, and all of 1827, so I’m not sure when he moved there. The 1828 town record for Croyden list Daniel Pickenell. It appears he was only assessed a poll tax of $1.30. He was not listed as owning property. He was also taxed 0.29 for the town, 0.50 for the school, 0.22 for the state, 0.14 maintenance, 0.10 for the county, and 0.65 for highways.

The 1830 census lists Daniel Pickernell living in Croydon, Sullivan County, New Hampshire. Occupations and family members are not listed this year.

By 1839, all of Daniel and Sally’s children had been born. The first was Charles, born February 1819 in Plainfield (source – Ancestry’s Family Data Collection.) There is a Charles who married Lois Walker, and who is listed as dying 15 Jun 1900. His death record names his parents as Daniel Picknell and Sarah Aiken – but this is from an index, and not the original record. I have not yet found any original records that link this Charles to Daniel and Sally.

The second child may be Lyman Pickernell born about 1822. A passport application lists a Lyman Picknell born about 1822 in Plainfield, and there is a marriage record of a Lyman Picknell son of Daniel marrying Julia Delano in Braintree, MA, but there is not enough information to confirm this is all the same family.

The next child was Henry Pickernell born 1827 in Croydon (according to Family Data Collection at Ancestry.) There is a Henry, born in Croydon, son of Daniel (mother not listed) who married Hannah Rogers, and this is probably the correct son.

Ancestry Family Data Collection lists Ann Pickernell, born in 1831 as daughter of Daniel G and Sarah Picket. There is an Annis M Picknell Reade daughter of Daniel Picknell (mother not named) who was the spouse of Calvin Dwight Reade. There is not enough information in her death record to confirm whether this was Daniel and Sarah’s daughter.

Daughter Emaline was born about 1832, and was mentioned in Wendell town records (see below.) Her death record names her parents as Daniel and Sarah.

Daughter Lovina J was born about July 1833. I do not have a birth record for her, but she was named in Wendell town records (see below). She died in 1901, and her death record names her parents as Dan’l Pickwell and Sarah Perkins.

Daughter Rosina was born about 1834, and some records call her Roxana. Ancestry’s Family Data Collection says she was born in Croydon, and names her parents as Daniel G Pickernell and Sarah Picket. She is also mentioned in the Wendell town records (see below). She was in the 1850 census with her father, and her death record from 1898 names her father (not her mother.)

The eighth child was Sarah Z born about 1839 in Croydon. She is listed in the Family Data Collection. She is not in the 1850 census with her father.

I was not able to find Daniel Pickernell in the 1840 census, even searching manually in Croydon, Wendell, and Plainfield. I did find the following story printed in the New-Hampshire Statesman and State Journal, (Concord, NH) Saturday, November 03, 1838; Issue 26; col F: The Court of Common Pleas was still in session when our paper went to press. The criminal docket was disposed of during the first week of the term. Daniel Pickernell, indicted for stealing a quantity of leather, was found guilty and sentenced to three years imprisonment at hard labor in the State Prison.

This article doesn’t say where he was from so it might not be the same person – but it might explain the following – why his wife and children were treated as paupers in Wendell.

On Mar 12, 1839 the children of Daniel Pickernell left to the care of the Selectmen & bound out according to law except youngest child. Wife of Daniel Pickernell and youngest child being set up was struck off to William Robinson at 1.00 pr Week. [Wendell Town Records] Similar entries were recorded in 1840 and 1841, but were not continued in 1842, which corresponds with the 3-year sentence.

I was not able to find an 1840 census that included the New Hampshire state prison by name. Moses Pillsbury was the prison warden in 1840, and his household in Concord contained 85 people (not individually named.) Daniel may well have been there. Sarah/Sally and the children would probably have been counted in the households which had been paid by the town to take care of them.

I have not yet found a death record for Daniel’s wife Sally. My last clue to her location is the 1841 town records where she and her child “was struck off to John Praddock at 96 cts per week.”

In 1850 Daniel was living in Lebanon, Grafton County, New Hampshire. He was listed as a farmer, but had no real estate value listed. Family members included Lorena, Rosina, Harvey, BA, AM, and Wm Amsden. Rosina was Daniel’s daughter. Lorena was actually Lurena T Corey. Harvey was her son and BA was probably Betsy. According to “Plainfield Genealogy”, Lurena had a relationship with Daniel Plummer, resulting in children Harvey and Elizabeth. Daniel Pickernell raised Harvey and Betsey, and they used both the Plummer and Picknell names. The youngest child is apparently Alfarette “Nettie” who was born in 1849, and is probably the first child of Daniel and Lurena. William Amsden was an elderly farmer – perhaps the Picknells were working on his farm.

The Plainfield book says that Daniel married Lurena in 1858, and their Find-A-Grave entry says they were married 5 November 1858 in Hartford, Windsor County, Vermont.

The 1860 census lists Dan Pickernell living in Plainfield, in Sullivan County, New Hampshire. His occupation is Laborer, with no real estate value, and personal property at a mere $25. The household includes his wife Lurena, plus Henry (probably Harvey based on age) Betsey, Alferetta, and four-year-old son Alva.

In 1869, Daniel and Lorena, of Plainfield, purchased land in Tunbridge, Orange County, Vermont. The seller was Job Harford, who had purchased the land from Freeman Noyes. The land description section of the sale refers to the Noyes sale for details, but that book is not included in the land records at FamilySearch.org, so I do not have the legal description.

The 1870 census lists Danl Picknall, with Loraine, Alvah, Clara, and Nettie. Daniel was listed as a farm laborer, but also had his own property valued at $500. The family included Mary A Wood, age 10 months (born July 1869.) I don’t know her relationship to the family. (Clara Isabel Picknell was born 31 Aug 1861 in Plainfield, and died 17 June 1923 in Brattleboro, Vermont).

On 12 Jun 1876, Daniel and Lurena sold land for $400 to Nathanial Freeman of Lebanon. It was described as land that Daniel bought from Job and Caroline Harford in October of 1869. The next page seems to be Freeman selling the same land back to Lurena on the same day. I’m not sure of the purpose of this transaction, unless Lurena wanted or needed to be the sole owner of the property.

An 1877 map of Tunbridge shows D Picknell in District 9, at the very north boundary (with Chelsea) across from the Smith Family Cemetery and the school. Comparing 1877 with 2013 Google Earth imagery, their property appears to be across from Larkin Road where it intersects with Bicknell Road. (E Bicknell – perhaps Ellery Bicknell lived up the road, so it was probably named after him and not a misprint of Picknell.)

Daniel died at age 86 of cancer in Tunbridge on 2 Aug 1878. Lurena died at age 70 on 20 Jan 1894 in Tunbridge, of pneumonia. Both are buried at Hunt Cemetery in Tunbridge, and have memorials on Find-A-Grave.

I did not find out what happened to Daniel Plummer, the father of Lurena’s first two children. There was a person of that name in the 1840 census in the same county, but I don’t know if that was the correct person. There was a Daniel Plummer in Gloucester MA, with a wife coincidentally named Lurana T, but she was proven to be Lurana Thayer Riggs, so he is most likely not the father of Lurena Corey’s children. It is possible that Daniel Picknell chose to use the alias of Plummer after he got out of prison. I don’t know when his first wife died, nor why he didn’t marry Lurena for at least eight years after they were together, but perhaps he wasn’t free to marry. As usual, researching results in answers, and more questions and mysteries to solve.

Charles Chick was born 13 November 1889 in Kittery, Maine. His parents were Caleb W Chick and Augusta Almeda Eaton, who had been married in Portsmouth, NH on 26 January 1889. In 1900, the family lived in Kittery, where Caleb worked as a coppersmith.

On 1 September 1907, Charles married Rosie M Keen in Revere, Massachusetts. Rosie was born about 1891 in Amesbury, MA, daughter of Nathaniel Keen and Rose Burcham. This was listed as the first marriage for both. Charles was a resident of Biddeford, ME, occupation spindle straitner (sic). Rose was “at home”.

Charles enlisted in the US Navy Reserve on 9 August 1909. The 1910 census lists Charles with other crew members of the USS Hancock, and says that he has been married 3 years. His occupation appears to be “coal passer”. The census is recorded in Kings County, New York, so perhaps his ship was in port there at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. I have not yet been able to find Rose Chick in the 1910 census, nor in any subsequent vital records.

Charles’ later pension application names his ships – they are in alphabetical order, so I am not sure exactly when he was on which ship. The USS Camden was a cargo ship, then submarine tender. The Constellation was a sloop-of-war that pre-dates the Civil War. During WW1, it was a training ship. The Hancock was a transport ship. The Rappahannock served in the North Atlantic, delivering animals, such as horses and cattle, to the American Expeditionary Forces in Europe. The Topeka had seen action in the Spanish American War, then was assigned as a station ship at Portsmouth NH. The ship also served there as a prison ship, then was recommissioned and moved briefly to New York, then back to Portsmouth to serve as a training ship during WW1. The Southery was originally a collier, but was converted to a prison ship, and was in the Portsmouth NH area from about 1903 to 1922. On 13 September, 1911, Charles received an honorable discharge from USNR. He reenlisted on 6 Apr 1917.

On 6 May 1919, Charles married Loretta E Anderson, in Biddeford, ME. She was born about 1895 in Saint Johns, New Brunswick, the daughter of Charles H Anderson and Mary J Sinclair. This record is somewhat confusing as it lists Caleb and Almeda as residents of Brooklyn, NH, but lists Charles as born in Brooklyn, NH. I suspect that Brooklyn NY was his place of residence, as he was still with the USNR at the time. The occupations for the groom and bride were not listed. Charles received a second honorable discharge on 14 June 1919.

The 1920 census lists Charles Chick, and Mrs. Charles Chick, living in Portsmouth, NH, next door to his father and other family members. Charles was a machinist, although I cannot read the company name. The 1920 city directory also lists them, living at 502 Market. The 1923 Lynn MA city directory lists a Charles and Laura Chick living at 62 Spencer, but also lists a Charles W Chick, no wife listed, machinist, at 311 Summer in Lynn. I think that Charles was listed twice. Coincidentally, Mrs. Hilda Wizard was also listed in the 1923 Lynn city directory at 311 Sumner. Perhaps Charles was in the process of moving away from Loretta/Laura, and connecting with Hilda. The reverse directory lists this as a lodging house run by Annie Thomas.

On 2 May 1923, Charles married Hilda J (Beasley) Wizard, in Maine. The index does not list the parents of the couple, nor occupations. Hilda was the daughter of George H Beasley and Lilly Barradell, and was born in Australia (her parents were both born in England.) Hilda had previously been married to John Walter Wizard (also known as Hamidas (or Hormidas) Wizard. He had died the year before. Hilda had three children from her previous marriage: Hilda Jane, Evelyn Alma, and Homidas. Charles and Hilda may have had three daughters together (it is not clear whether these are his daughters, or daughters of Hilda’s next husband.) Geneva was born in 1925. Two other daughters were born after Geneva, but are still living, so are not listed here. Charles’ military record lists a third discharge date of 27 October, 1927. It is unclear whether he extended his second enlistment, or had another re-enlistment.

From the New Castle News, New Castle, PA, 29 Apr 1929 – page 1 and 2: ACCUSES HUSBAND OF HAVING OTHER WIVES LYNN, Mass April 29 Pleading not guilty to a charge of polygamy, Charles Winfield Chick, 39, able seaman aboard the USS Accomac during the World War and now an every day mechanic was arraigned before Judge Ralph W Reeves in district court today and was held on $2,500 bail for a hearing May 7th. He married wife No. 4 at Youngstown, O., following a courtship which police alleged consisted chiefly of reading biblical and other quotations to the effect that if a man and a woman cannot agree after marriage he shall go to the farthest corner of the earth and find another woman and she shall likewise do the same. The quotations were inscribed on the invitation to the wedding at Youngstown, Ohio, between Chick and Miss Ethel Lishon of that city, the complaint against her husband. The quotation, according to police, was also inscribed on a license issued by a justice of the peace. The invitation was elaborately printed as for a society event, bearing besides the names of the wedding couple and guests, a half-tone photograph of Rev. Levi G. Batman, of Youngstown who performed the ceremony. Mrs. Ethel Chick said her suspicions were aroused a few weeks ago when she discovered letters indicating that besides the four wives on record Chick had wives in Pensacola, Fla., the Panama Canal Zone, Cuba, and France. Mrs. Ethel Chick was in court today and after the arraignment held a long conference with her husband. Acting on information give them by the former Youngstown girl, police had traced Chick to a home in West Lynn, where they assert they found him, holding the hand of another prospective bride and reading her the quotation inscribed on the wedding invitation of Miss Lishon. The police investigation as [?] was stated at police headquarters, revealed the following list of wives: No. 1 – Miss Rose Keene, married at Biddeford, Me, in 1911 and divorced at Alfred, Me. No. 2 – Miss Laura Anderson of Everett, date of wedding undetermined and her present whereabouts unknown. No. 3 – Miss Hilda Wizard, native of New South Wales, married at Kittery, Me. In 1923. She is now living in Portsmouth, N.H., and told police she was deserted by Chick and was ready to testify against him. No. 4 – Miss Ethel Lishon, married in Youngstown, O., May 7, 1928. She is now living here. Since his arrest Sunday Chick has eaten nothing except beef stews ordered from a restaurant near police headquarters. He was removed to Salem jail in default of Bail.

A story printed in the Montana Standard, Butte, MT on April 30, 1929, included the following: FIVE WIVES WILL TESTIFY AGAINST PRINCE OF LOVERS – LYNN, Mass., April 29 (UP) The national convention of the “wives of Charles W Chick, 35, was set by Judge Ralph S Reeve today for May 7, at which time police expect to have five “Mrs. Chicks” on hand to support a polygamy charge against the former sailor. Chick’s bail was fixed at $2,500 at a preliminary hearing while police listed the result of his various ports [?] as follows: No. 1 – Mrs. Rose (Keen) Chick, Biddeford, Me. No. 2 – Mrs. Laura (Anderson) Chick, Biddeford, Me. No. 3 – A woman whose name was withheld by police. No. 4 – Mrs. Hilda (Wizard) Chick, Kittery, Me. No. 5 – Mrs. Ethel (Leyshon) Chick, Lynn. Chick described himself as a former chief engineer in the navy. One of his “wives” spoke of him as “the prince of all lovers.”

The Ogden Standard-Examiner, of Ogden, Utah, printed the outcome of the charges on 23 May 1929. SAILOR CONFESSES TO SEVEN WIVES SALEM, Mass May 23 (AP) Charles W Chick, a sailor and possessor of seven wives, pleaded guilty to polygamy in superior criminal court here Wednesday and was sentenced to a year in the house of correction. He was arrested on complaint of wife No. 7, who said he had failed to support her. Two of his seven wives testified against him. Mrs. Ethel Leyson Chick said she married him in Youngstown, O., a year ago. Mrs. Hilda Wizard of Portsmouth, N.H., testified she left Chick because he was cruel to her. The other wives named in court were: Loretta Chick of Pasadena, Cal.; Rose Keene Chick and Laura Anderson Chick, both of Biddeford, Me.; Yvonne Chick of Paris, France, and Leona Chick of Pensacola, Fla.

I did not locate a record for the marriage to Leona but did locate a marriage of Charles W Chick on 27 February 1927 in Tampa, to a Gertrude Whitten. The index doesn’t list parents’ names, occupations, or ages, but one has to wonder…especially since I did not find a household in the 1930 census for this for this couple. Chick was out of prison in time to be counted in the 1930 census in Kennebunk, Maine, with his mother and members of her extended family. Charles reported himself divorced, no occupation listed.

On 30 March, 1931, Charles married Myrtle Coolbrith (married name Brown) in Portsmouth, NH. This index entry does not list occupations, ages, or parents for either.

On 29 August 1932, Charles applied for a military pension. This index card is hard to read, but lists his ship’s names: Camden, Constellation, Hancock, Rappahannock, Quail, Southery, and Topeka.

On 20 September, 1935, in Portsmouth, NH, Charles married Florence D Myers. She was born about 1887 in Saco, Maine, daughter of Alden J Myers and Clara Jameson. The groom reported he was widowed, the bride divorced. He was a machinist, she was a reporter. This was listed as the groom’s fourth marriage, although I count five previous wives (Rosie, Loretta, Hilda, Ethel and Myrtle plus of course Yvonne and Leona and maybe even Gertrude).

In the 1940 census, Charles was living in Bath, Maine, boarding with Mildred Landers. Both were listed as divorced, and both reported that in 1935, they were living in Boston. Charles was a lathe machinist, engaged in shipbuilding. Mildred did not have an occupation listed. Her social security application record gives her maiden name as Sidelinger, and alias names as Landers and Chick. She is the ex wife of John Landers, as they were listed in the Boston directory in 1935 (41 Mall, Roxbury). Sometime after 1940, Charles married Mildred, his landlady listed in the 1940 census. The 1944 Portland city directory lists them at 40 Melbourne, employed by NESCo. In 1949 they were in Bath, ME, where he was a machinist with WH Co, residing at 104 Academy. The 1950 Biddeford city directory lists Charles W and Mildred E Chick residing at 27 Elm. Occupation was superintendent at SLS, but I don’t know what that company was.

Charles died 11 September 1958, and Mildred Chick applied for a military headstone for him. He was buried at Sandy Point Cemetery, in Maine.

I do not know what became of most of the wives. Hilda remarried twice more, and had two more daughters. Mildred outlived Charles, as she made the request for his military headstone. She died in 1993 and is also buried at Sandy Point. Other than his possible daughters with Hilda, I found no reference to other children.

George W Ayers was born 2 Jun 1821 in Wakefield, NH. I have not yet identified his parents. One city directory showed Andrew J Ayers living with George. Andrew is the right age to be his brother, and Andrew’s death record names his father as Joseph. In one census record, an older woman named Olive Ayers was living with Andrew. Those names might be clues to George’s parents.

Maria D Hawkins was born about September 1826 in Tamworth, NH, daughter of Cornelius D Hawkins and Sarah Winkley. The Hawkins family lived in Tamworth in 1830, and in 1840 was in nearby Albany. (Town boundaries were changing in those years, so they may have lived in two different towns without moving.) Conway NH town tax records show that Cornelius was in Conway by 1844.

I have not yet found a marriage record for Maria and George, but they were probably married about 1846, as their first child, daughter Margelia (Gelia) was born in Portsmouth NH in 1848. I have not yet located the family in the 1850 census.

Two more children were born: Alfred Winslow Ayers in 1852, and George Herbert Ayers in 1856. The 1857 Portsmouth city directory is the first paper record I have for the family. George was listed at 29 Hanover street, employed at W. Simes & Co. Andrew as mentioned above lived at the same residence, and this was the Ayers home for a couple generations. The 1860 census lists the family, George working as a laborer. His real estate was valued at $1000, and his personal property at $500. The 1867 city directory lists George as a sexton, a position he held for 50 years.

In 1870, George’s occupation was listed as teamster, with personal property valued at $400. Maria’s occupation was “keeping house”. The household included Winslow and George H, as well as daughter Margelia A, and her new husband, Flavin Berri, a clerk in a store. Ancestry has a good collection of city directories for Portsmouth during these years, and George was listed every other year (probably that’s how often they were published) as sexton and later listed as associated with the North Church – Congregational. In 1875, the Ayers home was listed in the business section of the directory as a boarding house. Son Herbert was sometimes listed as an engineer, but I’m not sure what kind. Later he was a barber and hair dresser.

The Ayers family probably kept a couple milk cows. As reported in the Independent Statesman (Concord NH) on 13 April 1876, George W Ayers, of Portsmouth, last season pastured a yearling heifer, in Greenland, but when the fall came she could not be caught. The farmer set his shepherd dog to catch her, but he only succeeded in driving her from the pasture, and she has wandered about the woods between Greenland and Stratham all winter, subsisting mainly on browsing trees. For several weeks she has been known to be in the vicinity of a farm in Stratham, and has been fed in the woods; but though coming near the farm several times with the cattle, she could not be toled into the yard or building, and she was only captured finally last week, by the farmer building a shed or trap over the spot where he was accustomed to leave her hay in the woods, with a door to drop by her removing its support as she fed, when he climbed to the top and dropped a rope down over her horns. She is quite thin in flesh, but surprisingly tame and gentle considering her escapade. (I had to look it up – toled means enticed.)

In 1880, the household on Hanover Street included George, still listed as a teamster, with Maria keeping house. Son Herbert was a barber. Son-in-law Floren Barri was a soap chandler (manufacturer) and he and Gelia had a daughter, Bertha. The final member of the household was Maria Fuller, most certainly the daughter of Maria Hawkins Ayers’ sister, Eliza Hawkins Fuller. Her “relationship” was servant, as was her occupation, so she probably helped in the boarding house operations. The city directories through the 1880s continued to list George as sexton, and in 1888, the occupation of mail carrier was added through 1894.

George and Maria’s daughter Gelia died 30 Dec 1885 of chronic mania at the state hospital in Worcester and was buried at Harmony Grove Cemetery. Her husband remarried 10 years later, and died in 1913 in Massachusetts. (Their daughter Bertha married William Entwistle, and died in Portsmouth in 1932.)

George and Maria’s son Alfred died 23 Feb 1891. The cause of death was hard to read, but probably was cerebritis, an infection of the brain. He was buried at Harmony Grove. Alfred had married Nellie Randall of Gosport (Isles of Shoals) and their daughter Ethel had married Patrick Coffee, then William Simmons.

Maria D (Hawkins) Ayers died 8 Oct 1891 of pneumonia, and is buried at Harmony Grove. Her death record lists her as the daughter of Alpheus Hawkins and Sarah A Winkley. I believe that this record incorrectly named her father, and that it should say Cornelius Hawkins. I found no other record linking Alpheus and Sarah. She is listed as the mother of Cornelius’ other three children – Eliza Jane, Sarah Ann, and Andrew Jackson. The only other Alpheus in the Tamworth area older than Maria was only 13 when she was born. He might be Cornelius’ brother, as they were living next to each other according to an early census record, but Alpheus married Betsey Harriman, not Sarah A Winkley. The death record is an index card copied from the Portsmouth town records, and a librarian at the Portsmouth library confirmed that Alpheus was recorded on the original town report. I hope that any readers with either supporting or contradicting information about Maria will share that with me.

George and Maria’s son George Herbert died d 5 Feb 1895 and is buried at Harmony Grove. His cause of death was “general paresis” which was a neuropsychiatric disorder affecting the brain. He had been married to May Morton, but I have found no record of children for them.

George (senior) may have retired by 1897, as the city directory for that year lists him at the same address, but no occupation. An item in the 19 Oct 1898 Portsmouth Herald reported that Mr George W Ayers of Hanover street will leave next month for Southern Pines, NC to pass the winter. He will be accompanied by Mrs. W T Entwistle, his grand-daughter. I don’t know what George’s connection was with Southern Pines, a community in the center of the state.

In 1900, George lived at same address, living with Bertha (daughter of Gelia) and William Entwistle. A boarder with the family was Elizabeth M Ayers b Sep 1865, but I don’t know how she is connected to George. The city directories continued to list George in 1901 and 1903.

George died 4 Dec 1907 from arteriosclerosis, and is buried at Harmony Grove. His death record did not name his parents. However, his death was noted in a California newspaper. Los Angeles Herald, Volume 35, Number 77, 18 December 1907 – Portsmouth NH Dec 17 George W Ayers, 86, died recently at his home on Hanover street. He was the oldest member of New Hampshire Lodge of Odd Fellows, having joined that organization May 31, 1848. He was for a half-century sexton of the North Congregational church.

The first person I blogged about several years ago was Sarah Ann Hawkins, daughter of Cornelius Hawkins. Having a copy of an original New Hampshire marriage record (not the index cards) showing that Cornelius Hawkins had married Sally Brown, I had assumed that she was the mother of his children. After a lot of searching, I found Sarah Ann’s death record – the index card – and it named her mother as Sarah Winkley. I also found the record for her sister Eliza, which again listed the mother as Sarah Winkley. I haven’t yet identified their older sister who was listed in the 1840 census – but younger brother Andrew’s 2nd marriage information names his mother as Sarah W.

Who is Sarah Winkley?

Some on-line trees on Ancestry list her as the daughter of William Winkley and Mary Winkley, being born 22 Feb 1798 in Barrington, NH, dying 7 Dec 1871 in Portsmouth NH.

Here’s what I know – I have a photocopy of an old marriage record that says that on 5 December 1825, Mr. Cornelius Hawkins and Miss Sally Brown, both of Tamworth, were married. The record doesn’t name parents. The “Miss” in the record implies that this is Sally’s first marriage.

The 1830 census lists Cornelius Hawkins age between 20-30, a woman of the same age, and two females under the age of 10 (presumed to be Eliza and her unknown sister.)

The 1840 census lists Cornelius Hawkins age 30-40, a male under 5 (Andrew) a female 30-40 (his wife), two girls 10-15 (Eliza and ?) and one girl under 5 (Sarah Ann).

The 1850 census names all family members and lists Cornelius as 45, Sally as 50, Sarah as 19, and Andrew as 12. I know that daughter Eliza was married in 1848, but don’t know what happened to the other daughter. Sally is sometimes a nickname for Sarah. Is this Sally the same person as Sarah Winkley?

From later records, I learned that Eliza Hawkins was born in 1829, so for Sarah Winkley to be her mother, she would most likely have married Cornelius between the 1825 marriage of Sally Brown, and Eliza’s birth.

The NH vital records show an index card saying that Cornelius and Sally Brown were married 2 March 1860. The name of the justice of the peace is the same as the original record. I suspect that the person tasked in 1905 with copying the original information from town records to the state index cards simply erred and (almost) wrote the original date of the recording of the marriage (29 March) and mixed up the year (1826 vs 1860).

The 1860 census lists Cornelius, Sally, and Andrew, plus daughter Sarah Ann and her new husband and child (which should have been Josephine but they recorded as John.)

The 1870 census lists Cornelius but now calls his wife Mary. Through the prior census records, his spouse Sally has always been a few years older, but Mary is now listed a year younger. I don’t know if this is just a discrepancy caused by the passage of time, or if this indicates a different wife for Cornelius.

I did not find Cornelius and wife in the 1880 census, so I am guessing that they died before it was taken. I also didn’t find any other Cornelius living in the Tamworth/Albany/Conway area, so believe that the above-listed records all apply to one person.

CD Hawkins’ headstone is in Portsmouth, NH, and says born in 1805, died in 1800. It also says Sarah, his wife, born 1800, died 1880. They are buried with Eliza Hawkins Fuller and family, so I am confident that CD is Cornelius. I have not been able to find death records for Cornelius or Sarah. They may have died elsewhere and been buried here as part of Eliza’s family plot.

Back to Sarah Winkley. If she is the one listed as dying in 1871, why is her headstone off by nine years? I know “written in stone” doesn’t make it true, so was this an error made by the stone carver? Or is the record for a different person.

An index of NH births at FamilySearch.org does list the Sarah who was born in 1798, daughter of William and Mary, although the associated image is the index card, not an original record. The same website has the 1871 death record. However, if she was Cornelius’ wife, her death record should have listed her as Sarah Hawkins, not Sarah Winkley. The record shows her as single – other options available on the card were married, widowed, or divorced, and since single was written in, most likely this Sarah Winkley was NOT the spouse of Cornelius Hawkins.

The parents of this Sarah Winkley died before the 1850 census, so I was not able to find them in a family group. However, the 1860 and 1870 census shows a Sarah of the correct age, living in the Buzzell family in Barrington. A little prowling around Ancestry indicates that Sarah had a sister Ann (aka Nancy) who married a Buzzell. These records are what I would expect to find for a Sarah Winkley who never married, which is what is indicated by her death record. Finally, the best evidence. on FamilySearch.org, I found the will for William Winkley, from 1845. He named his daughters by their married name, but Sarah was called Winkley, indicating she wasn’t married. The will also described an arrangement William Winkley made in 1840 with his son-in-law Jeremiah Buzzell, for Sarah’s care. Having made this arrangement for a 40-year-old daughter, I suspect she may have had a mental or physical disabilitity that ruled out the possibility that she would marry and have a family of her own. Final proof that the daughter of William was not Mrs. Cornelius Hawkins.

So who is the right Sarah Winkley? I have proven that the Sarah daughter of William as shown on the trees on Ancestry is not the correct person. I have ruled her out, but that doesn’t bring me any closer to identifying my third-great-grandmother beyond just her name.

Next step – contact the three tree owners on Ancestry to share the above info (and hope they correct the record) and keep watching for new databases that might help sort this out.

I recently wrote a short article for our local genealogy group newsletter about the benefits of blogging. The Internet has tons blogs about how to do research, find records, and select software. I chose to write mini biographies about people in my family tree. I realize that this reduces my potential interested audience mostly to cousins, near and distant, who share some of the same ancestors. Even so, I have enjoyed benefits of blogging, or otherwise sharing what I think I know about members of the family – such as contributing records to Find-A-Grave or posting family trees on Ancestry.
First, before I publish, I try to make sure I have the facts, and the records to support them, so preparing each blog forces me to check the details, and also to see if anything new has come along. If I didn’t get something documented, the time to do it is before I put it on line. Second, people contact me to share information. Third, they sometimes challenge the accuracy of my information. That sends me back to the first point. I was recently contacted by a distant cousin – we share the same great great grandfather, Joseph Labor: me from the first wife Marie-Celine Martin, while my half-third-cousin descends from Joseph’s second wife Lydia Degoosh. He made a suggestion to correct Lydia’s mother’s name from Elizabeth (Betsy) Schanershan to Shannon. I had seen it both ways, but hadn’t found a birth, marriage, or death record for her.
I went back through my records for the DeGoosh family, and found that for the four of her children for whom I have death records, they all list the mother as Betsy Shannon. I decided to look again, for her marriage record. There it was – in the Quebec vital records – right where I should have found it a long time ago. The marriage record names the bride of Joseph Degoosh as Betsy Ann Shannon. I decided to look at the family in the 1871 census – and this time remembering to look forward and backward from this family, I found Joseph Labor, his second wife Lydia, and their first child. I had looked and looked for him in this year. I don’t know why I had never found him before – even though his name was spelled Labour, it should have shown up in a phonetic or similarly-spelled name search.
Not being able to find Joseph in either the 1870 US or 1871 Canada census, I had assumed that after he married Lydia in Quebec, they moved to the US after the 1870 census was taken, and before the 1871 census. Apparently this was not so. As a result of these finds, I have updated by blogs about:

Of course new information creates new questions. Joseph’s two older sons were with his parents in 1871. Where was 6-year-old Marcel? I had expected that he would be with his father and new bride. Now having found that record, I see he’s not with them. Another mystery to solve.

The 1940 census was taken on 1 April (and the two weeks or so following). By law, it was to remain confidential for 72 years. It was released to the public on 1 April, 2012. Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org are two of the major genealogy organizations that bought copies of the images. It took them a short time to get all the images up. At that point, the images could only be browsed, going page by page, looking for the names of interest. That worked for me if I knew the person’s address, but wasn’t useful if I didn’t know where the family lived in 1940. The images had to be indexed, meaning someone had to go page by page, line by line, extracting the names and other information so that the images could be searched by name. As each state was completed, the websites were updated. FamilySearch used volunteers, and did the states in a different order than Ancestry, so if the state wasn’t available on one website, it might have been available on the other. Both sites now are reporting 100% completion of the indexing. I have found errors, of course, in the spellings of the names. I always send in corrections to Ancestry, (FamilySearch doesn’t have that function) so the next person searching will be more likely to find that name. If I cannot find the person on one site, I find it pays to check the other.

The person I most wanted to find in the 1940 census was Marcel Labor /Marshall Laber, born in 1865. No one seems to know when or where he died. I found him in the 1930 census in Lexington, MA. A grandson remembered his father receiving word that Marshall had died, and guessed it might have happened about 1940 or 1941.

I was able to find him in the 1932 Lexington city directory. In the 1933 Arlington MA directory, he was listed as living at 71 Mystic, employed as a dynamite blaster. Mrs. Marie Kenny also lived with him, the same housekeeper he had as early as 1920. The 1934 and 1935 Arlington directories had the same entries. But I didn’t have access to later directories. So the question was: Would Marshall be found in the 1940 census?

Massachusetts was one of the last states to be indexed, but when it was, Marshall’s was the first name I looked for. And there he was, now living at 132 Sylvia Street, in Arlington, with the same housekeeper. His occupation was driller and blaster, employed by the town. His age was recorded as 67, but he was really 75. I still don’t know when or where he died, but probably in Arlington, and definitely after April 1, 1940.

I’m always happy to find a person lived longer than I thought. That was especially true this weekend, when I found that my Aunt Bea was recorded in a family tree on Ancestry as having died in 1988. She was at the family reunion this weekend. She’s looking remarkably well for someone supposedly dead for a quarter of a century! But that’s another story.

Luvia Ann Labor was born 27 November 1870 possibly in Barton, Vermont, but probably in Sherbrooke, Quebec. Her parents were Joseph Labor and his second wife, Lydia Ann Degoosh. Joseph and Lydia were married 4 August 1870 at the Congregational Church in Sherbrooke, Quebec. Luvia’s name has also been interpreted or indexed as Loula, Lura, Lurica, Lubia, etc. Her name appears to be spelled Louveraine in the 1871 census, where she was listed with her parents, in the Sherbrooke area of Quebec, not far from her Degoosh grandparents.

Luvia’s parents were apparently not together many years. By 1880, Lydia was living in Barton with her parents, three older brothers, and Luvia, age 10, Nancy age 9, Mary age 6, Joseph age 4, and Gerry or Garey, 7 months. (This last sibling may be William Labor or William Garey.) I have not been able to locate Luvia’s father in the 1880 census. Luvia eventually had four younger step-siblings – Aaron Garey, and Ethel, Samuel, and Myrtle Paul.

On 8 Aug 1888 in Newport VT, Luvia married William Martin. He was born about 1867 in London, the son of F John Martin and Elizabeth Keable. He was a coachman. Their first child was Herbert F, born about September 1889. He died on 9 August 1890 in Rockingham VT, of cholera infantum. The second child was Lillian M Martin born 31 December 1890 in Rockingham. She died 17 April 1892 in Rockingham of inflammation of the brain. The third child, Everett William Martin, was born 5 Dec 1892 in Rockingham.

Luvia’s family moved to Providence, RI and was counted in the census there, living on Smith Street. William’s birth date was recorded as December 1870, Luvia as November 1871, and Everett as December 1892. They had been married 12 years, and Luvia had given birth to three children, but only Everett was still living. Luvia listed 1888 as the year she came to the US, and William listed 1884. William was a cook, and Everett attended school. Luvia’s first marriage ended, but I am not sure if by divorce or by death of William. She was listed in the 1905 Providence directory as Mrs. Luvia Martin, 46 Stewart street. However, I believe that the information was not updated by the time that she remarried.

On 5 September 1904, Luvia A Martin married William Leggat in Providence. Luvia’s marriage record (index) lists her parents as Edward and Lydia Fuller, and at first I didn’t believe this was the correct person. The 1905 Rhode Island state census lists her DOB as 27 November 1870, with her father’s birthplace as Canada French, and her mother’s birthplace as Canada – English (indexed as Connecticut – good reminder to check the next image to see if there is a page 2 for the record, and look at the real image, not just the index.) The record also repeats the “3 children born, 1 still living” information that matches the 1900 census. Luvia’s address is 46 Stewart, which matches the city directory entry for Luvia Martin. Her son, Everett Martin is listed at the same address, with the correct DOB, so in spite of the questionable information in the marriage index, I am confident that this is the right person. (And later, in 1914 when Luvia’s mother died, Mrs. William Leggett was listed as one of the family members thanking friends and neighbors for their support.) The 1905 census says that there are four people in the household, but each person is on a separate card, so I do not know who the fourth person is – I did not find another Leggat at the same address. The 1907 city directory lists them at 46 Stewart. This might be a boarding house, as the same address lists four other women (although Luvia and Everett are not named. The directory says William is at “B&S”, probably Brown and Sharpe Manufacturing.

Luvia is listed in the 1910 census in Providence, with husband William Leggat and son Everett Martin. They lived at 46 Stewart, had been married 5 years, this being William’s first marriage. He was born in Scotland, and was a shop machinist. The census taker recorded that both William and Luvia arrived in the US in 1892. Everett was an apprentice machinist. In 1914, 1915 and 1916, the city directory lists William as a machinist living at 47 Haskins. Spouses were not listed, but Everett Martin was listed as a salesman.

The 1915 RI state census lists Luvia’s family at 47 Haskins. William was a tool maker in a shop. Luvia’s occupation was listed as demonstrator, travelling. Everett was recently married to Henrietta Gebhart, and they lived with Luvia and William. Henrietta had had two daughters, but both died as infants. Luvia’s granddaughter Loretta was buried at the State Farm Cemetery in Cranston. According to Find-A-Grave, this cemetery was in use from 1875 to 1933, but was later inadvertently covered by the roadbed of Route 37. No stones or markers existed, and remains were not removed when the road was built. However, in 2008 after rains washed away the embankment and exposed the remains, they were identified if possible, and reinterred elsewhere. Online information about this cemetery indicates that those interred were individuals who had lived in the state institutions, so perhaps Loretta was born with severe disabilities.

In 1918, William registered for the WW1 draft. At the time, William was living in Ionia, Michigan, and working as a foreman tool maker for Grand Rapids __?_ Company in Ionia. William’s contact person was Mrs. John Leggat who lived in Pawtucket, RI. Her relationship is not listed – perhaps she is his mother, but obviously not his wife. Meanwhile, the Providence city directory for 1918 lists Mrs. Luvia Leggat at 47 Haskins.

In 1920, William was living in Detroit, Michigan, listed as divorced. My best guess for Luvia in the 1920 census is a woman living at 47 Summer. She is recorded as Sarah Leggett, born in Connecticut, parents born in Massachusetts, employed as a saleslady in a department store. However, the 1919 and 1920 city directories lists Mrs. Luvia Leggat at 47 Summer, so I suspect the census information is incorrect.

Luvia married John J Collins between 1920 and 1925. In the 1921 city directory, the resident at 47 Summer is still Mrs. Luvia Leggat, according to the city directory. However, in the 1922 directory, she is listed at 47 Summer as Mrs. Luvia A Collins, manager Pacific Coast Borax Co. This record implies that the business address is the same. John is not listed. Spouses were not recorded for other entries on this page, so perhaps Luvia was considered the head of the household. The 1924 directory list John J Collins as a driver at 307 Broad, with another entry as salesman at 307 Broad – both entries say home is 47 Summer. Luvia and spouses for other entries were not recorded.

The 1925 RI state census lists them at 47 Summer Street. John was born about 1884 in Rhode Island. Luvia lists Canada as her place of birth, and she lists herself as an alien resident.

John died 18 Aug 1929 in Bristol, RI. John J Collins served in the 74 Co US Coast Artillery band, and seems to have had a pension of some kind dating from 1908 (or possibly 1928). It appears that Luvia A Collins, his widow, applied for the pension on 18 September 1929. Records show that John had enlisted on 31 Aug 1901 from Providence, his home town. He was in the Coast Artillery, discharged Aug 30, 1904, at Fort Williams, ME, by expiration of service – as a private – with remarks “very good”. There are a couple different men named John J Collins who registered for the WW1 draft – unknown which if any is this person. His memorial in Find-a-Grave indicates that his service was in the Spanish-American War. However, that war was over by the end of 1898. Although John had been a resident of Providence, his death record indicates that he died at Bristol, RI. The Rhode Island state veteran’s home is at Bristol.

In the 1930 census, Luvia was living at 15 Elma. She was employed as a demonstrator of home products and also took in boarders. She reported her birthplace as Canada, and her year of arrival in the US as 1872. The Providence city directories recorded her in 1930 as living at 15 Elm, widow of John. In 1934 – 1940 she lived at 176 Gallup.

The 1935 RI state census lists Luvia at 176 Gallup. This census lists her place of birth as Canada, and says she is a naturalized citizen. She was not employed, nor seeking employment.

The 1940 census lists Luvia Collins at 26 (unable to read street name, but not Gallup.) She did not have an occupation listed, but did have two couples boarding with her. She owned her own house, and it was valued at $5000.

Luvia died 17 February 1947, in Cranston, RI. Her birthplace was listed as Sherbrooke, Quebec, widow of John J Collins, father’s name James Fuller, mother Lydia Degoosh, both born in Canada. It is interesting that Luvia’s father’s name was again recorded as Fuller (as it was when she married William Leggat.) When Luvia’s first marriage was recorded in 1888, her father was correctly recorded as Joseph Labor. Unfortunately, her death record on FamilySearch.org is only an index, not an image of the original. I have not located a burial place for her.

Luvia’s son Everett had two more children, who both lived to be adults. I found one possible match for Luvia’s first husband, William Martin, in the 1905 RI census, although without a familiar street address, or a definite DOB to match, and could not confirm that it was him. In Rhode Island death records I did find a William F Martin who was born in 1868 (location not given) son of John and Elizabeth, which matches – who died 29 Apr 1910, but again, cannot be sure this is her first husband. However, this man’s entry on Find-A-Grave lists his birth place as England, so it is likely to be the correct person. William Leggat eventually returned to Providence, and was still living there in 1942.